Riane (The Firmament)
Riane is a Breton knight in The Firmament. Background Little is known of her early life, but she is revealed to have been trained as a Knight in her early days in High Rock and is a skilled defensive swordsman and fencer. She also knows a few spells which she uses as support in combat and is knowledgable about martial arts. She also showed a certain degree of knowledge of Restoration Magic. A Lion's Pride Act I: Molon Labe In 4E 176, Riane returned to her home after the end of the Great War between the Empire and the Aldmeri Dominion. However, as the province of High Rock suffered a severe economical depression, many Breton soldiers who returned home to the province were refused their pay, among them Riane. Dissatisfaction with the nobles from the lower classes increased greatly, and revolts and riots became a common occurence throughout the province. Many soldiers also became bandits and other vagabonds out of self-preservation. Seeing that she needed her own group of people to deal with the threat, Riane sent letters to adventurers scattered throughout Skyrim to recruit her own band of anonymous peacekeepers to deal with the problems plaguing High Rock and aid in restoring order throughout the province. After recruiting an unlikely group of advnturers, she and her new group headed for Jehanna as part of their first mission to restore order in the province, only to find that the city is under attack by the forces of Farrun. Riane and her group assisted Jehanna, and successfully drove the invaders back and secured the city. After the chaos died down, the count of Jehanna thanked them for the efforts of Riane and her group and was invited for a feast in the Palace as a reward. During the feast, Riane and her group were given the task of finding and arresting the Count of Farrun. In the next day, Riane and her group made thier way to Dunlain Falls, the last known location of the Count of Farrun. There, they neutralize the patrolling guards and make their way towards the secret underground basement hidden in a trap door. Upon their arrival, they saw a noble knight standing next to a dead impostor of the real Count of Farrun, with the real badly-injured Count in the distance. The noble states that he killed the impostor out of self-defense after the latter tried to strike him down and allows the group to take the real Count back to Farrun in exchange for his life. Though reluctant, Riane agrees. After succssfullly rescuing the Count, they began to make their way back to Farrun, but was ambushed by three assassins sent by an unknown third-party. Riane and her group defeat the assassins, but Virenna brutally butchers one of them under the influence of her dark alter-ego. Riane paralyzes the fellow Breton before deciding to disintegrate the assassin's mangled corpse out of mercy. Soon after, a small rift began to develop between Riane and Virenna, though the former remained oblivious of the latter's other dark persona. After they successfully return Count Alard back to his hometown of Farrun, the count himsef gives Riane's group the authority to neutralize the last bastion of the peasant rebellion in Evermore in any way they see fit. Crendal returns to momentarily regroup, but was ignored by Riane. Eventually, Riane decided to confess to her group about her heritage as a noble to House Viralaine, a family known for their training and production of Battlemages for the province of High Rock, and that the peasant rebellion is nothing more but an interlude for the real problem that was inevitably approaching the province; Civil War. During the trip, Riane learns about Virenna's alter-ego and decided to help the latter in any way she can should she fall prey into the alter-ego once more. Before they could leave, two anonymous assassins try to assassinate Riane, but were unsuccessful in their attempt and is defeated. One of Riane's accomplices decided to use an unorthodox method to extract the blood of the officer who died under mysterious circumstances, much to the chagrin of Riane. After the commotion, they continued to move for Evermore, but eventually encounters the same noble knight they saw in Dunlain Falls, with the exception that the noble was now fighting for the west under the armor of the east. During Riane's eavesdropping however, they were ambushed by a group of Footmen. They easily defeat the footmen and confront the noble knight known by the name of Astav. Considering Riane a threat, Astav enters a short but fierce battle against the former and her party. After several minutes of fighting, the latter flees, but not before warning the former of her misplaced trust in the other noble houses. Afterwards, Riane and her party arrives at Evermore, just in time to witness an peasant rebel holding Riane's young sister as a hostage, and Crendal standing from a distance with a small group of Battlemages and an unidentified C.O. After a brief stand off, the C.O. gives the order for Crendal to fire, and the latter wounds both the hostage taker and the child. The C.O. is then informed that a figure similar to Astav and a group of 100 peasant rebels were heading for the city, and the commanding officer left with the courier to meet the rebels. Infuriated by the loss of her sister, Riane turns her blade against Crendal, with the former's party assisting in defeating the battlemages. Riane's party eventually kills Crendal and his soldiers, but the former considered the battle an empty victory. She knelt in front of her deceased sibling and embraced her out of despair, and was aware that they she and her party were now branded traitors to the eastern houses. As she despaired, the fort began to explode after someone ignited the stores of oil barrels inside. Riane and her group eventually abscond the city and fled into the wilderness. After some time, Riane buried her sister in an unmarked grave just outside of Evermore, and proceeded to move to the western town of White Haven with the rest of her party. After a few troubles and stops, Riane's party make it to the small town, with the knight leading the party to her secret hideout hidden in an abandoned house, where they will live for the next 4 months during their hiding. Act II: Memento Mori Now branded as fugitives by the eastern houses for their role in the death of Crendal Ashfield, Riane and her party spent 4 months in hiding. To make a living, they adopted aliases and worked in certain territories as sell-swords. Soon, Riane and her party were hired to protect a 17-year old noble by the name of Isabelle for an escort mission, but was unknowingly tracked down by a small group of Saronians who were after the noble. Riane orders Carolyn to stay behind to protect Isabelle while the former and her other companions dealt with the Saronians. After the battle, an unknown individual sneaked into the Monastery and neutralized Carolyn before kidnapping Isabelle in front of Riane. The figure easily casts a paralysis spell at the second latter before making a quick escape. Carolyn recognized the man's face and told Riane of his traits. Much to her shock, Riane knew that Isabelle's kidnapper was her long-lost father, who seem to have kidnapped Isabelle for reasons unknown. After Riane and her party recover, they decided to give chase and eventually find Isabelle and Riane's father surrounded by both Saronian and Lionheart knights who were also after the young noble. A fierce three-way battle then ensues, with Isabelle being the top priority. Riane's party soon emerge victorious, and the latter's father decided to leave the former to the latter's care for now. After being told by one of her most trusted companions to head for the hidden city of Sanctuary, which was located in northern Stormhaven. Riane's party arrive just before sunset and decided to recuperate. After a day's rest, Riane decided to consult with Talion about disturbing dreams relating to the possible future awaiting the former. As soon as the party was ready, Riane agreed to Talion about the plan of visiting House Avryil to seek their aid in stopping the impending civil war that was soon to plague High Rock. They arrive in House Avryil after some time, and Riane secretly wanders around. After some time has passed, Riane was called by Talion to explain about an incident in the Arena. The former soon visits the office to find a figure strikingly resembling her appearance. The 'Riane' soon revealed itself to be a Dremora Assassin sent to assassinate Talion and other important individuals. Eventually deeming that Carolyn may also be a high-priority target for a possible second assassin, Riane quickly decided to run back to the former's room as a pitched fight ensues in the office. Riane soon finds the second assassin after Carolyn and kills him. After the chaos dies down, Riane discusses the possibility of a third-party catching wind of their actions in Evermore 4 months ago and the rescuing of Isabelle from both Saronia and the Lionhearts. Her fears soon rise when she thought about Isabelle remaining in Sanctuary, and quickly decided to head back to the hidden town to find Isabelle. The fears soon proved to be true, as Saronia has already attacked Sanctuary and killed most of it's inhabitants in search of Isabelle. Riane and her group fight their way towards the Palace to reveal Count Faolan, seemingly involved in the commotion before turning into a lich, revealing that the real Count may have been killed and his form taken. With the help of Rayon, Riane kills the lich, but fails to find Isabelle. Left fruitless, Rayon suggests going back to House Avryil to discuss their next course of action. Eventually, Riane starts a relationship with Rayon, but also accidentally sires their future daughter, which infuriates Talion, as the former will now be unable to stop the inevitable Civil War that will engulf the province of High Rock. After Riane gives birth to her daughter, the Breton suffers an unusual and rare medical condition that rendered her being unable to sire another child for the rest of her days. Act III: The Valiant Intent on stopping the war, Riane decided to go see one of her brothers and ask for a possible truce between east and west. The Breton hatched a plan to see her influential brothers through a party in Wayrest to also blend in as nobles and avoid the watchful eyes of the Lionhearts. The Firmament Riane continuted to serve as the leader of the Lionhearts until she began to harbor a bitter amount of resentment against the Altmer, to the point she wanted them to suffer extinction. Eventually, this boiling hatred would eventually claim her life. Personality As she was raised by well-mannered teachers and tutors, Riane was a calm, level-headed person who valued virtue, rational thinking, and compassion. She is shown to be caring for those she trust and is respectful to those she deems worthy of her respect. She greatly despises deception and injustice, and appears to have little to no tolerance for it. Riane has a fierce sense of loyalty and a professional manner. She abides by a knight's code dedicating herself to restoring the country she serves. She is selfless, prioritizing others before her own. As a woman of her word, Riane strives to fulfill promises for her friends and family, regardless of the request or the circumstances. However, she has a boiling, deep-seated hatred against the Altmer for their crimes against humanity, which made her consider commiting the act of genocide against them as punishment until she met her death at the hands of Talion, which made the future of the Lionhearts uncertain. Skills and Abilities Riane was an exceptional battlemage, able to utilize both her unique swordsmanship and spells to maximum effect in combat to take on any adversary she comes across with. She was also knowledgable about martial arts and was aggressive in the art of disarming and counter-attacking. She was also known to fight with ruthlessness and determination, using calculated bursts of strength to overpower her opponents. Roleplays A Lion's Pride (On-going) The Firmament (Death) Gallery RianeIdleActII.png|Riane in her refurbished Knight Armor at the end of 4E 176.|link=http://tes-sandbox.wikia.com/wiki/File:RianeIdleActII.png RianeSquireArmor.png|Riane garbed in standard Squire's Armor.|link=http://tes-sandbox.wikia.com/wiki/File:RianeSquireArmor.png Credits to mods used *Ritter Armor Royal Retexture by messiasmummo *R18Pn 04 - Ritter Armor for UNP and CBBE V3 by KURESE *CBBE by Caliente (Warning: NSFW content) *ApachiiSkyHair by apachii *The Eyes of Beauty by LogRaam *Berserk Mule Armor by Gimora Category:Characters Category:Females Category:Bretons Category:Spellswords Category:Deceased